(Left to right) Gándara Center CEO Lois Nesci, Adam Gomez District Director Lamari Jackson, state Sen. John Velis, Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi and Chicopee Mayor John Vieau gather at opening of the new Gandara Center.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
CHICOPEE — On Thursday, Nov. 22, Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi, Gándara Center CEO Lois Nesci, state Sen. John Velis (D-Westfield), Chicopee Mayor John Vieau, and a representative from the office of state Sen. Adam Gomez (D-Springfield), along with a host of community members, joined together for the grand opening of Los Campeones, a residential treatment program for men.
This facility, located at 202 East Main St., is dedicated to providing enhanced residential services for men who have co-occurring disorders, a term used to describe an individual who is working through mental health challenges as well as battling substance use disorder.
It’s an 18 bedded program for individuals who identify as male who have substance misuse and mental health diagnosis. Patients will be able to live at Los Campeones, which translates to “The Champions,” for nine to 12 months, emphasizing the significance of length of stay in the recovery journey.
“So, it’s a co-occurring where individuals are able to stay for nine to 12 months and receive intensive case management, group community supports and referrals to be able to help with their substance misuse and mental health disorder,” Vice President of Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Chelsea Bryant said.
Bryant said the best way for someone looking to check themselves into this program is by calling Gandara’s intake and do a self-referral. The intake team will take down their information, ask a few questions and see if they are appropriate for the level of care at the program.
They would then get added to the list to be admitted.
Bryant talked about how programs such as Los Campeones, operated by Gandara Center, provide a supportive atmosphere for individuals to recover and reintegrate into a community setting.
She said, “This is exciting because this is a co-occurring program and so we’re really able to help individuals with both mental health and substance use and we’re noticing in the field that it’s definitely changing and people aren’t just coming with a substance use disorder or a mental health disorder, they’re coming with both. We’re able to kind of combat both of those at the same time to be able to provide support and treatment for individuals to get better and become active, healthy members of society.”
Bryant also talked about how great it was to have so many elected officials and organizations at the grand opening to learn about the program.
She said, “It means a lot to have support from both local, state and federal government because we’re still working to break down the stigma so it’s important to be able to highlight and make sure that we’re getting the word out there about this treatment and let people know. They’re all very passionate.”
Bryant also acknowledged that it was nice for Vieau to be there to welcome the center and program to Chicopee.
She explained, “It’s great to be welcomed by a community from the mayor because some people don’t want these kinds of services in their community so it’s always nice to be welcomed by a community and a city so warmly to be able to provide needed services to the community.”
Speakers at the grand opening noted the importance of treating substance use disorder and mental illness together, considering about half of the people with a diagnosed mental illness also struggle with substance use disorder.
Los Campeones will provide residential recovery services to 18 men in the program and Nesci said they now have six residential recovery homes and “even with the ones that we had there were significant wait lists, so this is a nice addition to the compliment of services that we’re delivering.”
In working with justice-involved population, Cocchi said he understands the high rate of patients suffering from co-occurring disorders as 90% of those in the department’s care report some level of substance use disorder at intake and around 40% also have mental health issues.
The Hampden County Sheriff’s Office congratulated the Gándara Center, and Sheriff Nick Cocchi said he looks forward to seeing the positive impact this new program will have on the community.
Vieau welcomed Gándara’s Los Campeones Program to Chicopee and expressed his gratitude for programs like Los Campeones, which represent a significant step in addressing the interconnected challenges of mental health and addiction in our community.
“The city of Chicopee is proud to support initiatives that strengthen our city and offer hope to those in need,” Vieau said.
